Tony Coolidge is the man who’s working to connect 400 million Austronesian people back to their roots in Taiwan. In this interview Tony talks about what it takes to connect all those people, who are spread over 40 countries. Clearly this is not a task for the faint of heart! Tony isn’t a millionaire, he’s an ordinary man doing extraordinary things.

Who

Born in Taiwan, raised around the world, and educated in the United States of America. After getting his BA in advertising and marketing he started applying this to different online endeavors. However, never fully educated he took landmark education courses and learnt new ways of achieving more in a smaller amount of time. Those courses really lighted up his entrepreneurial spirit. Over a time span of ten years he has started many different businesses and has achieved many goals in his life. He was able to travel, be a journalist, a published writer, and much more. He was always looking for ways to expand, to see what the limits are of what he could do.

Why

15 years ago Tony’s mother died. When he returned to Taiwan he met her relatives and discovered she was actually part of one of the many tribal cultures in Taiwan. The culture he then got to know was the Austronesian culture. Without hesitation he fell head over heels in love with it. He started a non-profit organisation in the USA to share this culture with native Americans to see what could be created. Afterwards, about 5,5 years ago, Tony moved back to Taiwan to take the next step. He wanted to connect all the Austronesian cultures to their roots in Taiwan.

How

Over the last couple of years Tony has been part of a cultural exchange between scholars, journalists, politicians, and students. Since bringing together 400 million people isn’t an easy task he has broken it down in a few steps. Although he said he probably won’t see the fruition of this project before he finds his demise, the planting of seeds and fostering the growth is what he does see.

The first phase was a cultural exchange. Last year Tony collaborated with a group of 10 students from New Sealand, with the same cultural background, who came to Taiwan to make a documentary about the Austronesian culture and its rich connections throughout the pacific.
The next phase is the phase Tony’s in right now, and will probably stay in until he dies. It’s the phase of awareness through media. With the help of the documentary, that has laid down a foundation, now it’s time to educate the media. Always spreading the word, to scholars, journalists, and also people like me. Increasing this awareness, having this documentary, has opened a lot of doors, suddenly there is money to actually do things. Now people are constantly knocking on Tony’s door to develop new media projects, to help this media exchange.
The following phase is the one where Tony really wants to connect Taiwanese Austronesians with Hawaiian Austronesians. He believes, because of the unique position of Hawaii, this can be a great step to connect it back to the rest of the world.
The last phase is the one of tourism. Right now the indigenous cultures in Taiwan aren’t properly developed, but soon they could become one of the economically fastest growing cultures in the world.

Although some people like to go at it alone, the biggest ideas in the world are usually achieved through teamwork. For Tony it’s about trying to motivate three groups of people: Taiwanese, Austronesians, and foreigners. Convincing Taiwanese people to join his crusade is about showing them the financial impact a better developed tourism could have, show them that villages will have an opportunity to develop when tourists stay at their hotels, pay for transport, and eat at their restaurants. This might sound logical, but Taiwanese are traditional people and need to be shown what the impact could be.
Getting Austronesians to join is a lot easier for Tony. Research has only recently shown that the roots of Austronesians lie in Taiwan. So they are curious and excited about that connection, the origin of their culture seems to be very important to their cultural identity. The only real thing that has to be done is make the information accessible to all those people.
Lastly, foreigners also love Taiwan and the Austronesian culture. Foreigners from the west really appreciate the philosophy of indigenous people. The fact that they are caretakers of the earth and have acted in a sustainable way for thousands of years, in full harmony with nature whilst maintaining peaceful relations with other people. Taiwan has attracted a lot of foreigners who have a spiritual calling to learn as much from the Austronesians before their knowledge is lost forever. Another reason for foreigners to come to Taiwan and join Tony is because they can actually make a change. Most of western culture is extremely static, and people can hardly make a dent the moment they want to change something. In Taiwan effort can actually make a difference!

What

For Tony this is a challenge, but it’s not too daunting or impossible. He realizes he won’t see the big picture before his time is over. He just hopes that his children’s children will see the change he is now starting. He believes it will happen because the people of Taiwan are always looking for something to help them stand out, probably because they are still looking for their place in the world.

Lesson

Taiwan’s society is deeply rooted in Chinese society. The Chinese have a completely different way of looking at things. Since Tony didn’t grow up in Taiwan or receive any education there he has had to adjust his approach and expectations. He has realized that a lot of the Chinese culture is about ritual, respect, how to carry yourself, show your face, and indirect way of communicating. The culture is difficult to trust and support anyone. So approaching it requires a lot more practical and result oriented ways.
Since Tony has received his education in the USA he has experienced the rather extreme cultural differences that come with that. Americans are idealistic, willing to take on new ideas, try things out to see how it goes, tolerant to risk, willing to invest a little to build something great, and willing to take two steps back to take leaps and bounds forward. These are all foreign concepts in Chinese culture. Americans are way more progressive and open to new solutions. Most people in Taiwan are afraid of things and like being told what to do. They like the certainty of having a government tell them what to do.
So getting something done in Taiwan also means having the government on your side. Compared to Americans who couldn’t care less what the government does, they do what they want when they are inspired. 99% of Taiwanese people will ‘simply’ do what the government wants. If you don’t want an eternal struggle, make sure you have the Taiwanese government on your side. Tony’s documentary gave him exactly what he needed to get in touch with the right people at the top to get stuff done. The documentary gave him a certain level of authority because it was shown at universities, festivals, and also won awards. It helps to show where they come from and what they want to achieve.

Exercise

Tony believes that making the impossible possible starts with a shift in mindset and beliefs, because it’s our beliefs that limit us. In order to break those beliefs we need a change, because freedom from our past is the most difficult thing to achieve. Tony achieved this by doing an exercise that was given to him. In a room filled with 500 people he was asked to get as many no’s as possible, meaning that he had to ask as many people outrageous requests as possible. The one who had the most no’s got a 100 dollars. This exercise helped him get the most amazing projects of the ground. One of which was producing the first concert at the great wall of China.

Now, assuming you’re just reading this on your own and you don’t have a room with 500 people with you, try the following: Write down a big project you would love to do, but have always been to scared to do. Break it down to what has to be done, similar to Tony’s phases, and start asking everyone you know personally (don’t leave anyone behind) with which of those tasks they could help you.

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